U.S. Muay Thai looking for new space in Marquette

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Last Tuesday’s record-breaking snowstorm dropped about a foot of extremely wet heavy snow on Marquette. That caused the roof of Northern Hydroponics to collapse and flooded the basement. The basement is used by U.S. Muay Thai, a non-profit gym.

“I got a phone call from the landlord and simultaneously got a video message of what was transpiring and I was only a couple of blocks away and I came down and saw what was happening with the collapsed roof and the water from the pipes that burst were still running ten hours later,” said Dan Pemble, U.S. Muay Thai head coach.

The building has since been condemned, meaning no workouts for the athletes that use the gym regularly.

“I would say [we have] eight to 10 athletes on a slow day, to 20 to 30 on a busy day, and we’ve been training, if not at this facility, elsewhere in the Marquette area for more than 30 years now,” Pemble said.

Those athletes now have to do some training on their own.

“I do what I can to keep busy and stay in shape, it’s a great thing for fitness, it’s a great thing for stress levels and anxiety, it’s a great thing for all aspects of keeping yourself healthy and you try to do what you can on your own but without a big space to do it in, you’re kind of left with shadowboxing and just doing normal calisthenics,” said Bryan Solander, U.S. Muay Thai assistant coach.

However, a dance studio in Marquette has allowed them a place for morning workouts.

“So, in the meantime, Dawn Dot Dance has been gracious enough to let us use their space in the mornings when they don’t have any other classes going on, and we’re certainly looking for a new space,” Pemble said.

Now, the search is on for a new space for U.S. Muay Thai.

“We’re looking just for a space that we can call our own, openness and a landlord that’s willing to accommodate us is really all we need, we take care of ourselves pretty well,” Solander added.

The group is also selling t-shirts as a fundraiser online through Pemble’s Facebook page.

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